The project objectives are: 1) to develop quantitative measures of speech production in normal adults and patients with neurological disorders; 2) to identify measures sensitive to changes in speech associated with neurological disorders; and 3) to identify separate aspects of speech production independently affected in neurological disorders as an indication of the components of the speech production system. Three studies have been completed this year. A study of normal speech production demonstrated adverse effects of increased age (between 40 and 80 years) on: speaking rates; phonatory reaction times; maximum and range in intensity; and use of phonatory frequency to differentiate stress. Male speakers had better performance than females in phonation time; speaking rate; maximum rate change; rate of laryngeal adduction-abduction; and mean, range and maximum intensity levels. Timing for speech articulation in normals was slower on tasks coordinating tongue with laryngeal movements than those with the larynx alone or the larynx, lips and jaw combined. Patients with involvement limited to the autonomic system (idiopathic orthostatic hypotension) were without speech production deficits in comparison with normal. Patients in the early stages of multiple systems atrophy (Shy-Drager Syndrome) were significantly impaired in comparison with normal on all measures of laryngeal movement for speech, suggesting a selective effect on vocal fold function in the early stages of the disease.